The purpose of this study was to assemble a profile of the status of women in four countries, including their accomplishments in international sports events. The status of women within a country must be defined and understood before equivalence in sport opportunities for males and females can be comprehended. The first hypothesis was that a lack of opportunities in sports and athletics would result under the following conditions: (1) when women are restricted from moving freely outside the home; (2) an extreme degree of sex role stereotyping exists; (3) women are treated as property and controlled by husbands or male kinship groups; and (4) when women are excluded from employment that would enable them to have career options other than marriage and motherhood. The second hypothesis was that the more egalitarian the female's legal status compared with that of the male, the more evidence could be found of women competing in sports and athletics. It appears that women enter international sports events almost in direct proportion to the degree of their political participation, the amount of women in the labor force, and percentage of female literacy. References and tables of supporting data are appended. (Author/FG)